Pilot energy business president, marketing chief out in shakeup

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. fuel retailer Pilot Travel Centers said the president of its energy business and petroleum marketing chief have left the company in the latest shakeup after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway took majority control last year.

Brad Jenkins, who was president of Pilot Flying J Energy, and Bill Cashmareck, vice president of Petroleum Marketing and Business Development, are no longer with the company, it said in a statement.

The company last year replaced its chief executive and finance chief with longtime Berkshire executives and released about 15 employees, mostly tied to its crude oil trading operation.

Known for its Pilot Flying J truck stops, Knoxville, Tennessee-based Pilot had expanded a fuel purchase and trading business by recruiting experienced diesel, gasoline and crude oil traders from Exxon Mobil Corp, Phillips 66, Noble Group and others.

However, after Berkshire took an 80% stake, the company has been scaling down its risk-related trading operation, according to three people familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Bill Berkrot)